January 2012 is the month of key “primaries” in the United States: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida. In the American electoral system, primaries are the procedure to select a candidate for a political office among competing aspirants within a political party. On the Democratic side, there

When, in a few years from now, political analysts will look back on November 2010, they will likely see it as the moment when the debate over a new multipolar world monetary system became really serious. On Nov. 2, President Obama and Democratic Party suffered severe losses in the US mid-term elections – mainly due to the protracted economic malaise in America. On Nov. 3, the Federal Reserve decided to buy US treasury bonds (and state and municipal bonds) worth $600 billion (a lot more will likely follow). The international answer was unprecedented – in the negative. Then, on Nov. 8, Robert Zoellick, the head of the World Bank and a key figure of the US establishment, suddenly proposed the creation of a “new monetary system”.

In seems almost certain that Greece will get a 50%+ debt cut sometime in 2012, if not earlier. The “haircut” will be painful for the holders of Greek state bonds – in Greece and abroad. But the EU governments, the European Central Bank and the IMF will do whatever

Since the beginning of the year 2010, the Anglo-American and also continental European mainstream media have been indulging in the financial and fiscal woes of Greece. If we believe the media, Greece is tottering at the brink of state bankruptcy and might detonate the European Monetary Union (EMU). Moreover, we are told, not only Greece but the whole southern belt of the Eurozone – Portugal, Spain and Italy – has become a financial and fiscal disaster area. One should add however that the hype over Greece is accompanied by massive currency speculation against the euro and by a massive speculation drive with respect to “credit default swaps” (CDS). The “global players” of international finance are back to the very speculation practices which caused the 2007/08 financial crisis. If there’s one sensible conclusion from the “Greek affair”: States must finally get tough on financial regulation. This is as important for their credibility as fiscal discipline.